Oriental Bay Homes – Wellington – New Zealand – February 2017

During my recent visit to Wellington, I decided each morning to take a lengthy stroll along Oriental Bay which is very lovely in the early morning. But this time instead of looking at the water as I did in my October visit last year, I thought I would check out the apartments and homes along the other side of the road. And also the little boat houses along the water front…so sweet!

I do love modern buildings but along this foreshore it’s the older and refurbished homes that are really lovely. In the 1950’s Oriental Parade only had a mix of grand homes and smaller villas but with the changing times, up to seven storey apartments blocks have made their way along the parade.

These modern buildings do overshadow some of the smaller homes which is a shame, but I must say that I would definitely live in one of the newer two storey homes with huge glass windows and large balconies overlooking the water.

But it’s good to see that the delightful and beautifully restored homes are plentiful along the road and up in the hills. some not restored but still with such character.

And for those of us who cannot afford these homes, there are some very glamorous looking garages that could be converted (?) but I guess owners would not be that willing to part with these homes for their cars!! Then there are pictures of homes painted on the rock walls. A couple of these are along the rock face and add colour to the drabness of the walls.

And colourful little shops between big buildings…I like how these older buildings look and how they have not been sold to make way for taller buildings (yet).

And more lovely refurbished homes…

I must say as I was walking along the water front each morning I really enjoyed looking at the lovely homes and catching people having their breakfast before heading out to work. And I really would have loved to see inside homes at the top of the hills – I think they would have been pretty special but no chance as the only way to enter the home is to park your car down in the garage off the road and take the electric lift up to the house. I saw one lady and her golden retriever dog out for a walk one day and then both hop into the lift to return home – sweet!! Dog knew exactly what to do as soon as the door was opened by it’s owner.

Also along Oriental Bay there are a set of seven villas which are dubbed the ‘seven sisters’.

I love walking down Oriental Bay, on one side you get the beautiful beach and sea (with the occasional store), and on the other is all the architecture, a nice mix of old and new houses and stores. Cool post!

Beautiful! These structures remind me of old San Francisco and old new York. It makes a lot of good sense to restore older homes and buildings. Modern day structures are inferior in quality i.e. material, compared to those of yesterday.